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Boasting in Weakness
Paul continues in our reading today with his apostolic "qualifications". The super-apostles have money, a popular message, and good speaking skills on their resume, but what does Paul have?
These aren't even all of them! Paul feels very uncomfortable even talking about "qualifications" (see verse 21 - "I am speaking like a fool" or NLT "I must be out of my mind to be speaking this way") because it's not even the point. By putting qualifications forward, the super-apostles prove that they don't get it at all. It's about receiving a call from God and doing the work God has for you, no matter what. BUT - if he must talk about boasting, these are the kind of things that Paul is willing to boast about - suffering and weakness.
When we reach chapter 12, things shift a little bit and get a little difficult to understand. A little background information goes a long way in helping to understand what Paul is saying:
"I know a person in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. In this sentence, Paul switched to the third person, speaking of the event as if another person had told him about it. It is obvious, however, that Paul is, in fact, the person in Christ who was caught up to the third heaven. In 12:7, Paul would explain that God had given him a “thorn in the flesh” in order to keep him from becoming arrogant about this revelation.
So why did Paul recount the revelation as if he were an observer and not a participant in these revelations? There are two common explanations:
(1) Some have asserted that Paul was trying to express the way he felt during the vision, as an observer of what was happening.
(2) Others understand this as a technique Paul used to distance himself from the boasting he felt he had to do. This is the most likely reason Paul did this, for he seems to be expressing that sentiment in 12:5: “I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses” (2 Corinthians 12:5 NIV). Although he felt compelled to tell the Corinthians about this revelation in order to prove his apostolic authority, Paul used the technique of speaking in the third person to avoid bragging directly about this revelation. Paul was willing to risk obscurity in his writing in order to guard against pride." [1]
I would also definitely go with (2) on this one as well, as it fits the context a lot better than the other option. So what is this "third heaven" stuff? Understanding how people made classifications during that time helps a lot:
"Although Paul didn’t give many details about this ecstatic experience, he did write that he was “caught up to the third heaven.” What does this mean? In Paul’s day, the notion of multiple heavens—from three to seven heavens—was common. Scholars who have systematically analyzed the use of the words “heaven” and “heavens” in the Old and New Testament believe that the Scriptures use the word “heaven” to refer to three separate places. The first heaven is the earth’s atmosphere (see Acts 1:9–10); the second heaven is the entire universe, which contains all the stars (see Genesis 1:14). The third heaven, beyond these two heavens, is where God himself lives (1 Peter 3:22). This is the “heaven of heavens” (Nehemiah 9:6; Psalm 68:33 NKJV). Whether or not Paul had this three-fold division of the heavens in mind, it is clear that he considered the third heaven as the highest heaven. Paul saw his revelation as an extraordinary and unique revelation (12:7). Nothing less than going to the heaven above all heavens would silence those who boasted in their own revelations." [2] (emphasis mine)
The point? Paul's "qualifications are the ones that matter: service to God and a personal knowledge and relationship to Jesus, not good speaking ability and entertainment value.
From here he goes on to a VERY important passage though: his "thorn in the flesh". We can't know for sure what the "thorn" was, because Paul doesn't tell us. Some of the options put forward have been:
I personally take the last view, but as I said, it's impossible to know for sure. But again, what's the point? The point is that Paul's greatest weakness is what he holds out as his greatest reason to boast? Why?
Because weakness shows us who we really are. When we can depend on nothing but God's grace to get us through, we truly understand who has the power and "qualifications": God alone.
Paul boasts in his weakness because it constantly shows him the the only thing that we can boast of is God. Not our own power. Not our own qualifications. Not our own experiences. God alone is worthy of such praise. If weakness constantly shows us that, may we all boast in our weaknesses.
Questions? Comments?
Boasting in Weakness
Paul continues in our reading today with his apostolic "qualifications". The super-apostles have money, a popular message, and good speaking skills on their resume, but what does Paul have?
- Went to prison
- Received lashes
- Beaten with rods
- Stoned
- Shipwrecked
- Hated by all sorts of people
- Weighed down by concern for all of the churches
These aren't even all of them! Paul feels very uncomfortable even talking about "qualifications" (see verse 21 - "I am speaking like a fool" or NLT "I must be out of my mind to be speaking this way") because it's not even the point. By putting qualifications forward, the super-apostles prove that they don't get it at all. It's about receiving a call from God and doing the work God has for you, no matter what. BUT - if he must talk about boasting, these are the kind of things that Paul is willing to boast about - suffering and weakness.
When we reach chapter 12, things shift a little bit and get a little difficult to understand. A little background information goes a long way in helping to understand what Paul is saying:
"I know a person in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. In this sentence, Paul switched to the third person, speaking of the event as if another person had told him about it. It is obvious, however, that Paul is, in fact, the person in Christ who was caught up to the third heaven. In 12:7, Paul would explain that God had given him a “thorn in the flesh” in order to keep him from becoming arrogant about this revelation.
So why did Paul recount the revelation as if he were an observer and not a participant in these revelations? There are two common explanations:
(1) Some have asserted that Paul was trying to express the way he felt during the vision, as an observer of what was happening.
(2) Others understand this as a technique Paul used to distance himself from the boasting he felt he had to do. This is the most likely reason Paul did this, for he seems to be expressing that sentiment in 12:5: “I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses” (2 Corinthians 12:5 NIV). Although he felt compelled to tell the Corinthians about this revelation in order to prove his apostolic authority, Paul used the technique of speaking in the third person to avoid bragging directly about this revelation. Paul was willing to risk obscurity in his writing in order to guard against pride." [1]
I would also definitely go with (2) on this one as well, as it fits the context a lot better than the other option. So what is this "third heaven" stuff? Understanding how people made classifications during that time helps a lot:
"Although Paul didn’t give many details about this ecstatic experience, he did write that he was “caught up to the third heaven.” What does this mean? In Paul’s day, the notion of multiple heavens—from three to seven heavens—was common. Scholars who have systematically analyzed the use of the words “heaven” and “heavens” in the Old and New Testament believe that the Scriptures use the word “heaven” to refer to three separate places. The first heaven is the earth’s atmosphere (see Acts 1:9–10); the second heaven is the entire universe, which contains all the stars (see Genesis 1:14). The third heaven, beyond these two heavens, is where God himself lives (1 Peter 3:22). This is the “heaven of heavens” (Nehemiah 9:6; Psalm 68:33 NKJV). Whether or not Paul had this three-fold division of the heavens in mind, it is clear that he considered the third heaven as the highest heaven. Paul saw his revelation as an extraordinary and unique revelation (12:7). Nothing less than going to the heaven above all heavens would silence those who boasted in their own revelations." [2] (emphasis mine)
The point? Paul's "qualifications are the ones that matter: service to God and a personal knowledge and relationship to Jesus, not good speaking ability and entertainment value.
From here he goes on to a VERY important passage though: his "thorn in the flesh". We can't know for sure what the "thorn" was, because Paul doesn't tell us. Some of the options put forward have been:
- False Teachers
- Sexual temptation (popular medieval view)
- Spiritual temptation (popular reformation view)
- Physical ailment such as headaches (very early view)
- A metaphor for physical weakness, probably in the eyes
I personally take the last view, but as I said, it's impossible to know for sure. But again, what's the point? The point is that Paul's greatest weakness is what he holds out as his greatest reason to boast? Why?
Because weakness shows us who we really are. When we can depend on nothing but God's grace to get us through, we truly understand who has the power and "qualifications": God alone.
Paul boasts in his weakness because it constantly shows him the the only thing that we can boast of is God. Not our own power. Not our own qualifications. Not our own experiences. God alone is worthy of such praise. If weakness constantly shows us that, may we all boast in our weaknesses.
Questions? Comments?
[1] Bruce B. Barton and Grant R. Osborne, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Life Application Bible Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1999), 447-48.
[2] Ibid, 448.
[2] Ibid, 448.
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